What Is the Sherman Act? Why DOJ Investigating Networks Over Trump Coverage
Newsweek · C · trust 73/100
10 Loading video... By Steven Frank 0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. The Justice Department is investigating whether five major television networks violated federal antitrust law when they briefly suspended pooled coverage of President Donald Trump after CNN was barred from White House grounds.
ABC , CBS , CNN, NBC , and Fox News were contacted by Justice Department officials on Friday and asked to provide communications and other materials related to the White House television pool, The New York Times first reported. The pool is a longstanding arrangement under which participating networks share responsibility for covering the president and distributing footage to other outlets.
The inquiry stems from the networks' decision last month to halt pooled coverage for several days after the Trump administration barred CNN journalists from the White House, preventing the network from participating in the pool. The networks later coverage after U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a temporary restraining order on September 24 requiring the White House to restore access to CNN, MS NOW and Politico.
The Justice Department publicly acknowledged the Sherman Act inquiry on Saturday.
"Members of the television press pool have proudly boycotted covering White House events. Group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act. The Antitrust Division is investigating to determine whether these news organizations have violated the antitrust laws," a Justice Department spokesperson told Newsweek .
Newsweek has also reached out to ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC and Fox News for comment.
The Sherman Antitrust Act, signed into law in 1890, is one of the cornerstone laws governing competition in the United States. The statute broadly prohibits agreements that restrain trade and bars efforts to monopolize markets.
According to Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute, the law outlaws contracts, combinations, or conspiracies that restrict interstate commerce and prohibits monopolization or attempts to monopolize a market.
The act's two principal sections address different forms of anticompetitive conduct. Section 1 targets agreements among competitors that restrain trade, while Section 2 prohibits monopolization and attempts to monopolize. Violations can lead to civil enforcement actions and, in some circumstances, criminal prosecution by the Justice Department.
The Sherman Act has been used in some of the country's most significant antitrust cases. It played a role in the breakup of Standard Oil in 1911 and AT&T in 1984, and has more recently been central to major government cases involving Microsoft and Google.
The investigation appears to focus on whether the networks' coordinated decision to suspend pooled coverage could amount to what antitrust law describes as a group boycott.
The Justice Department is examining whether the networks acted collectively when they stopped providing pool footage after CNN's exclusion from the White House, The New York Times reported. The department's public comments have focused on alleged coordination among competing media organizations.
The television pool consists of CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News. Reuters reported that the organizations share coverage costs, rotate responsibility for gathering footage, and distribute video to news outlets across the country.
The dispute began after Trump barred CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the White House on September 18, citing what he described as "purposely negative stories," according to The New York Times. The three organizations sued, arguing the ban violated their First Amendment rights. A federal judge later temporarily blocked the restrictions, with that order scheduled to expire Tuesday.
The legal and political standoff between the Trump administration and the White House press corps escalated Monday after Politico was blocked from traveling aboard Air Force One.
The move prevented the news organization from carrying out its scheduled duties as the designated print representative in the presidential travel pool, adding a new front to an increasingly contentious dispute over press access.
"We can confirm that Politico was excluded from today’s out-of-town travel pool," a Politico spokesperson told Newsweek . "We do not have additional comment at this time, but would refer you back to our legal filings, previous statements and those from our attorney, Ted Boutrous."
The White House declined to comment when reached by Newsweek about the Politico Air Force One ban.
The reported investigation marks the latest clash between the Trump administration and major news organizations.
The Justice Department has previously subpoenaed reporters from the New York Times and seized a laptop belonging to a Washington Post journalist.
The Associated Press has waged a separate legal battle with the Trump administration over White House access since February 2025, when the administration restricted its journalists from some presidential events after the outlet continued using the name “Gulf of Mexico” instead of Trump’s preferred “Gulf of America.”
The AP sued, alleging retaliation for its editorial decisions and a violation of the First Amendment. A federal judge initially ordered the White House to restore access, but an appeals court later allowed the restrictions to remain while the case proceeded.
Reuters and HuffPost have not faced the same broader restrictions, but reporters from both outlets were excluded from Trump’s first Cabinet meeting in February 2025. Reuters had long participated in the presidential press pool, while HuffPost was scheduled to provide that day’s print pool reporter before being replaced.
Whether the DOJ's Sherman Act investigation ultimately results in any enforcement action remains unclear. For now, the Justice Department has said it is…
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